Arcana Summoner
by PlagueXRoamer
Summary: Solo project by Plague, inspired by Dirty Reid's All Manner of Horror. The Shinobi world isn't the first incarnation of humanity on this planet...Naruto X House of the Dead crossover. Powerful NOT godlike Naruto. No planned pairings yet.
1. The Chariot

Plague: GAAAAAAAAAAH I'm seriously getting freaked out by the fact that my mind INSISTS on a new plot bunny even though The Prototype Shinobi is having problems. On that note, I am very VERY sad to say that TPS will have to undergo a rewrite. I'll officially announce it as a 'chapter', along with the reason why.

Anyway this is my own solo project (seeing as Roamer already has one :( ), with one of the most insanest crossovers ever. Basically it's a Naruto and House of the Dead crossover (but you already knew that if you read the summary AND the story tags). Only the Arcana (AKA the bosses) of House of the Dead will appear. No normal zombies, or the AMS, just the Arcana, all in one summoning contract. I'll explain how the contract works at the bottom of the chapter, but for now, ROLL TAP- oh wait disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I do not House of the Dead (Sega's) or Naruto (Kishimoto's).

Plague: This will not include OVERKILL, as they do not have any Arcana names and thus would not fit into the contract properly. Also worth mentioning that this had been inspired by Dirty Reid's 'All Manner of Horror' (this could actually fit with that, but to each author their own). NOW ROLL TAPE!!

* * *

Chapter 1: The Chariot

Uzumaki Naruto stood shock still, watching from a distance as Iruka-sensei defended him verbally against Mizuki-teme's claim of him being a beast that only wanted the scroll for his own power. Tears entered his eyes as he recalled the events that led up to this.

He had failed the academy exam for the third time, when Mizuki had approached him with the proposition of a make-up test that involved stealing the Forbidden Scroll and learning a technique in it, before showing it to Mizuki, who would then graduate him if done successfully. However, this all proved to be a farce, as when Iruka found Naruto first, he had been shocked at what Naruto told him of the 'make-up test'. Soon after, Mizuki had shown up, hurling a volley of kunai that hit and pinned Iruka to a tree, before asking for the Scroll from Naruto. When he only showed confusion at the situation, Mizuki then continued on by telling Naruto the truth of why people hated him:

Twelve years ago, while officially, the Yondaime Hokage had defeated the Kyuubi no Kitsune that had attacked Konoha, in reality, he had been unable to defeat the Kyuubi and instead had sealed it within a child: Naruto. Shocked and confused, Naruto could not react as Mizuki hurled a large shuriken at him, only for Iruka to take the hit with his own back instead. Only becoming more confused by it all, along with great shock at the revelation, he had run away.

Now, he watched as Iruka, having been Henged into himself, had struck back at Mizuki who had been Henged into Iruka himself, before the current situation.

'What do I do...If this keeps up, Iruka-sensei will die! What do I...wait THE SCROLL! Maybe it has something!'

Slinging it off his back, he quickly opened it again, before quickly skimming over its contents.

'Nope, nope, nope, I can't use this, this one's too difficult...DAMN IT I need SOMETHING, or else Iruka-sensei will die!'

Starting to feel hopeless at the situation, he suddenly spotted a inky black seal that stood out on the scroll, along with a small note scrawled onto the scroll just above it.

_Arcana Summoning Contract_

This immediately caught Naruto's attention, as summoning contracts were relatively rare as compared to the large number of other jutsu.

'A summoning contract? I've never heard of something called Arcana, or of ANY summoning contracts outside of a clan, but...maybe I can use it to help Iruka-sensei!'

Quickly, he applied chakra to the seal, as had been taught in the Academy, before a small 'poof' of smoke revealed another scroll, albeit small, and an inky-black color. Gulping at the dark color, that just screamed 'CAUTION', he quickly cracked it open to reveal dark red lines outlining 'slots' on the left side of the scroll, while a curious design filled the rest of the space on the right. It consisted of twenty-two circles placed in three dimly-outlined circles, each enclosing the previous outline. One of the circles stood prominently in the smallest outline, six of the others placed evenly in the middle outline, while the remaining fifteen were also spaced out evenly in the outer outline. Curiously, two of the middle circles looked like they were burned out, along with another circle in the outermost outline. There appeared to be kanji in each circle, but the dark red ink on the black scroll made it hard to decipher in the dark night.

'No time to think about that now, now what did Iruka-sensei say on how to sign a contract again?'

Remembering how it was done, and that time was slowly running out for Iruka-sensei, Naruto quickly bit his thumb, before signing his name in the first slot. Almost immediately, darkness spread into his vision, before he collapsed onto the ground.

* * *

"Urgh...What just happened..."

Naruto groggily groaned out as he came to his senses, only for dark surroundings to appear in his vision. The expanse of black seemed to reach forever, with no sign of anything at all.

"What the...where's the forest, and...oh no! Iruka-sensei! What do I do, what do I do, what do I-"

_"You should calm down, child, or else you'll simply make the situation worse in your own eyes."_

"GAH!!!!"

Whirling around at the sound of the sudden voice, Naruto was met with what appeared to be a slightly pale-skinned man, wearing a business suit along with shaded glasses, sitting in a black office chair with a relaxed posture.

"Um...who're you mister? And how do I get back? I need to help Iruka-sensei!"

_"My name is not your most immediate concern, for I am simply here to explain some...rules and details to whoever signs the Arcana summoning contract."_

Naruto cocked his head slightly, the reply being somewhat confusing, yet also informative.

"Well could you hurry up at least? I need to help-"

_"Yes, you wish to assist your teacher, which is understandable. However, child, you should be aware that we are in your mind right now-"_

"EH?!?!"

_"-and time flows differently in one's mind as compared to the outside world. At most, we will take around one minute in the outside world to finish this conversation, seeing as you are in a hurry. Do you understand so far?"_

Naruto slowly nodded his head, having just connected a few dots: he had absolutely no idea about this Arcana summoning contract, and this...man?...was going to help him with that, and in turn helping him save Iruka-sensei.

_"Good, now what you must know above all that this summoning contract is very different from other contracts. There were originally only twenty-two summons, now only nineteen summons. I will explain why at a later date. Now, of these nineteen summons, you may only have access to three at first. If you wish to use the others, you will have to fight, and defeat, them to prove that you are worthy of summoning them. Am I clear so far?"_

Another nod.

_"Very well then, when you wish to summon any of them, you must call out the Summoning Jutsu, along with the desired Arcana summon's name. Otherwise, it will not work. Another thing to note that you may only maintain ONE of the Arcana summons at any time. Attempting to summon another will send the first back._

_"Finally, this regards the Arcana summons in overall. The initial three available to you are the weakest in overall power, but all the summons excel in their own specialization. You can access this information through the scroll, it has special seals for that. Oh and one more thing..."_

Naruto cocked his head slightly, before flinching back slightly at the sudden serious tone the man's voice took.

_"Under NO circumstances is this scroll to fall into the wrong hands. As the first to sign the contract, you are to take responsibility over it, and you WILL ensure that that situation does not happen, or there will be...CONSEQUENCES...for your world. AM. I. CLEAR?"_

Naruto nodded his head furiously at the demand the man made, before suddenly realizing that the 'edges' of the no longer seemingly infinite dark expanse was turning white, and coming closer to him and the man.

_"Hmmm, it appears that your time here is up. We will talk later, child."_

"But...I don't even know your name!" Naruto managed to speak as the white reached the man.

_"...You may call me..."_

Naruto barely managed to hear the name just as the white overtook his vision.

_"Goldman..."_

* * *

"GAH!"

Naruto shot up from his lying posture on the ground. Quickly, as his mind re-processed the talk with 'Goldman', as well as the sudden information of the Kuchiyose no Jutsu's seal sequence, he turned his head to the scroll to see three of the outer circles' red ink now a bright glowing red, making the kanji in each visible at the same time.

'No time to waste, let's just hope the one I pick can help Iruka-sensei!'

Randomly picking one of the three, reading and memorizing the kanji in it, Naruto placed the summoning contract into his pocket and the Forbidden Scroll onto his back, before quickly jumping into the clearing as Mizuki was about to stab Iruka with a kunai.

"MIZUKI-TEME!!"

"What the-BRAT!! Hand me the scroll NOW!"

"Naruto, RUN!!"

"Shut up Iruka, Naruto, hand me the scroll NOW!"

Naruto only showed a determined facade, before biting his thumb, and started flipping several hand seals, which both Chunin were startled to realize that the sequence was familiar.

'Isn't that the seal sequence for the Kuchiyose no Jutsu?!' was what ran through both Chunin's minds.

"Hell no! How about something I learned FROM the scroll instead? Kuchiyose no Jutsu: CHARIOT! (_Summoning Technique: Chariot_)" Naruto shouted as he slammed his hand into the ground after finishing the seal sequence.

Mizuki's eyes widened almost hilariously in horror at the massive spike of chakra, before a large blast of smoke burst in front of Naruto, which was soon cleared by a swing of a large bardiche...wait WHAT?!

The cleared smoke revealed a tall figure in imposing gray armor, with what appeared to be a breathing apparatus fixed to the front of the helmet. A glowing red gem stood out prominently on the figure's right chest armor piece. What unnerved Mizuki however was the aforementioned bardiche, which looked like it could easily cleave him in two, and the glowing red glass that covered the figure's eyes. Iruka, facing only the back of the figure, could only see the bardiche, but was still equally unnerved due to a thought: that came from the Forbidden Scroll?

Unbeknownst to both Chunin, Naruto was having...interesting thoughts.

'Woah...'

**'You are our new summoner, I presume.' **At this, Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin, and almost shouted out.

'WHA-'

**'****In front of you.' **That was when Naruto finally got the hint.

'Wait wait, you're...err...Chariot?'

**'Indeed. Who would have me decapitate?' **Chariot sounded almost TOO happy when asking the question.

'WAIT WAIT WAIT, no killing, no killing. Just...beat up the guy in front of you, can you?'

**'And WHY is that so, summoner?' **There was a tone of annoyance edging into Chariot's voice, possibly due to being unable to kill someone.

'Because...he needs to be punished later, and I don't think it'll be easy to explain how a Genin...err...decapitated a Chunin without explaining about you guys, and I don't think you guys appreciate being in the limelight.'

**'...For being the first human we have met in a long while, you possess impressive intelligence and even thought things out...despite your short figure...'**

'Heh than-HEY WAS THAT AN INSULT?!' Naruto only heard a deep mental chuckle in response.

**'Not fully intended...Very well then, if you so wish, no decapitation. I suggest however that you summon a few...Kage Bunshin was it? That way you could explain the man's eventual injuries as simply your clones beating him up.'**

'Hey that's a good-Wait how did you-'

**'When you signed the contract, you created a mental link that allows all of the Arcana, even those who are not presently available to you, to access your knowledge. The concept behind those Kage Bunshin is actually interesting...but I digress. The man is starting to move.'**

'Huh?' Naruto finally snapped out of the mental-conversation-induced stupor to see Mizuki reach for the large shuriken on his back. This was when Chariot exploded into action. Swinging his bardiche onto his back, he quickly rushed forward at Mizuki with great speed and, before the Chunin could react, launched a wicked right hook into Mizuki's face, sending him flying while dropping the large shuriken from his momentarily numbed fingers. As he tried to stand back up, Chariot was in his face again, punching deeply into his chest, breaking a rib or two in the process. Getting knocked onto the ground, Mizuki tried to support himself with his arms, spitting out blood at the same time, only to look up at the looming armored figure above him, who already had an armored fist raised.

The next few painful (for Mizuki) minutes only consisted of Chariot pummeling the downed Chunin repeatedly, holding back however to ensure that the Chunin would be (barely) recognizable for the other shinobi who would come eventually. Naruto, following Chariot's suggestion, had called up some Kage Bunshin, who all, along with Iruka, now watched with grim fascination at the one-sided (marginally) held back punching match, wincing every now and then at the occasional large scream from Mizuki, or the sound of bones cracking.

Finally, Chariot stood up, and started dusting off his hands, while Mizuki lied weakly below him, moaning pitifully now and then. Then, he turned around before walking back to Naruto, who had a grim look on his face at the bloodied Mizuki.

**'My work here is done then. See you another time, summoner. And do NOT disappoint us.'** Chariot 'spoke' mentally, before a burst of smoke heralded his self-dismissal. Blinking at the sudden disappearance, Naruto and his clones just stood there confusedly until he heard a pained cough behind him. That was when he remembered about Iruka-sensei.

"AAAAAAAAH!! IRUKA-SENSEI!!!"

* * *

Plague: Ok HOPEFULLY you guys liked it. A crossover of any sort with the House of the Dead series had to happen eventually, and what better way than to do it with one of the most crossovered series, Naruto.

Now, to explain how the contract, and thus the Arcana, work. Currently, Naruto has only access to three of them: Chariot and two others. For this story, I will be specializing all of the Arcana for specific roles, along with improving some of the weaker Arcana slightly, but in terms of overall power, these three will be the weakest of all nineteen Arcana . There will be an explanation for why there is no High Priestess, Devil and Moon in the story, as the series has not revealed these three yet.

To gain access to the stronger ones, Naruto will have to fight them in a mental world. There is, in actuality, no set order in which Naruto must fight them, but it would not be a really good idea fighting the stronger ones until he becomes better. I am also considering whether to allow Naruto use special skills that relate to each 'unlocked' Arcana.

Seeing as The Prototype Shinobi will be undergoing a re-write (T.T), the Monster Form poll will be kept in stasis, but will be replaced with another poll at a later date. Roamer may or may not be using the poll as well.

Now then, I am going to mix up the teams a bit. I would like to ask, most importantly, who should be on Naruto's team. There will be a chapter or two before the Genin team announcements, so no worries. Also, I am unsure if I should do any pairings, as this IS meant to be quite...gory, which would make things confusing if there WAS any romance (which, as I have just discovered, I suck at).

Finally, I am again VERY sorry about The Prototype Shinobi, but it is necessary. Now then, feedback/reviews are our lifeblood, just PRESS the green button just below this. Do it! DO IT! DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE- *BONK*

Roamer: ...Whoops...not.*drags Plague away*


	2. The Pantheon

Plague: Here we go, here we go, satellite radi-*BONK*

Roamer: ...Taking temporary control until Plague gets the lyrics of Boom Boom Pow out of her immediate attention...even if this is HER project...

Thank you for those who had enough interest to read the story, especially those who have set story alerts and reviewed.

...

That's pretty much it...seeing as its just the FIRST chapter...

...

Why do I even bother reading Plague's emergency script...

Disclaimer: Plague does not own House of the Dead (Sega's) or Naruto (Kishimoto's).

Roamer: ...Nothing else...so roll tape. *drags Plague off-screen*

"Text" Normal speech

'Text' Thoughts/Mental communication

_"Text"_ Goldman speech

_'Text'_ Goldman mental communication

**"Text"** Demon/Arcana speech

**'Text'** Demon/Arcana mental communication

* * *

Chapter 2: The Pantheon

An hour later, Naruto was lying on his bed in his apartment, staring up at the ceiling. Currently his mind was in a whirlwind of thoughts, all based around the events that happened previously, and ESPECIALLY around the Arcana. What had managed to disturb him significantly was Chariot's _eager_ question of decapitation. Maybe there was something in the scroll that could help?

Taking it out of his pocket, he unrolled it to see the same slots and design from earlier. However, there was no indication of anything else.

'Wait a minute, didn't that Goldman guy say something about the scroll having special seals? And didn't he also say that we would talk more 'later'? Maybe I can find something to contact him...who WAS that Goldman guy anyway?!?!'

_'I actually prefer being referred to in the present tense, child.'_

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!"

Unable to hold in his immense shock, he let out a large startled scream and shot off the bed, dropping the scroll in the process.

'G-G-Goldman?!'

No response came this time however.

'Wait...did I imagine that? Hang on...'

Naruto suddenly cast a wary eye on the black scroll, 'innocently' resting on the bed after he dropped it.

'I was holding that when he suddenly spoke...Maybe?'

He inched closer to the bed, before climbing back on and tentatively taking the opened scroll.

'...Goldman?'

_'Greetings, child. Good work, by the way, for figuring out what happened just now.'_

'Errr...thanks? Oh yeah, earlier you said we would speak about more 'later'?'

There was no response, except a sudden feeling of-

* * *

"GAH!"

In an instant, Naruto's vision was again filled with the black expanses of what apparently was his mind.

_"My apologies, child, for not giving you forewarning. It is better however if we had spoken face to face."_

Whirling around, he was once again faced with Goldman sitting in his office chair. There was a hint of a smile on his otherwise passive face.

"Alright, can you PLEASE give me some warning then in future?"

_"You have my word. Now, I believe you are curious for more information about the summoning contract."_

Giving Goldman a nod, Naruto moved to make himself comfortable on the ground, until Goldman shook his head.

_"This is your mind, child. You do not need to resort to sitting on the ground if you wished to."_

"Wait, you mean I could just...think of a chair or something to sit on, and it'll appear?"

Goldman simply shrugged in reply.

_"It's your mind. Or at least, to be more precise, a part of it."_

Giving Goldman an inquisitive look, Naruto decided to focus on a simple stool, before jumping slightly in surprise as one just 'phased' into existence next to him. Getting over it, he then sat on it before facing Goldman again, who had a quirked eyebrow.

_"A stool?" _Naruto shrugged in response.

"It works."

Goldman's face had another hint of a smile, before it disappeared again.

_"Now then, I should perhaps start on what _exactly _are the Arcana, shouldn't I?"_

Goldman waited for a response, which he received with an earnest nod.

_"First, I must make this very clear; shinobi were not the first incarnation of humans on this world."_

Almost immediately, Goldman could see the multiplying question marks hovering over Naruto's head, who had a dumbstruck look on his face.

_"Allow me to explain. Humans are such a destructive species. In the past, great technological leaps and bounds were made. At the same time, however, destructive technologies were developed at the same time, and in every incarnation, they have succeeded in destroying themselves one way or another, resetting the natural balance of this world, letting the world recover as the next incarnation reforms themselves._

_"The Arcana were the cause of one such renewal. I will not go into reasons, but they had...'a change of heart' so to speak, and now this contract facilitates their...attempt to reconcile with humanity."_

Naruto was still puzzling slightly over the explanation until he came across a startling conclusion. If Goldman was in the contract with them...

"W-wait wait, then does that mean...Y-YOU'RE A GHOST?!?!"

_"'Memory' is a better word. The original Goldman is as dead as the past incarnations are."_ Goldman replied nonchalantly, almost causing Naruto to sweatdrop if not for the reality behind the Goldman in front of him.

_"What is interesting for this incarnation of humans, however, is that it nearly experienced an early renewal-"_

"EEEHHHHHH!?!?!?"

Goldman sent an exasperated look in Naruto's direction, who had fallen off his stool in the immense shock of what he just heard.

_"I DID say the word 'nearly', child."_

"B-but, what happened then?!"

To Naruto's surprise, Goldman took off his glasses and started rubbing the bridge of his nose. When he was done, Naruto was again surprised as Goldman faced him, with what appeared to be akin to a look of sadness.

_"It is an old tale, which for the most part is true. In the distant past, there were no shinobi, only humans waring against each other. Then, a figure known only as the __Rikudō Sennin (Sage of the Six Paths) was said to be the first who knew the truth of chakra, and essentially was the first ever shinobi. Overtime, he spread his ideas and religion, which eventually became modern ninjutsu._

_"A creature, known as the __Jūbi (Ten-Tailed Beast), threatened the world, nearly causing another renewal. However, the Rikud__ō Sennin managed to subdue it, sealing its chakra into himself, its remains into a gargantuan stone prison, before sending the prison heavenwards, creating the moon._

_"THIS, however," _Naruto jumped at the sudden dangerous edge Goldman's voice took, _"was FALSE. The moon had long since existed before this incarnation of humanity. What truly happened was, yes he had sealed the remains into a stone prison_,_ but it was not large enough to form the moon. Instead it had impacted against the real moon, before being fused with it through some unknown part of the __Rikudō Sennin's power.__"_

The look of sadness returned to Goldman's face.

_"This had unexpected side-effects. Of all of the Arcana, The Moon possessed the greatest link with what she was named after. When the J__ū__bi's_ _remains fused with the real moon, the Arcana Moon lapsed into unconsciousness, most likely due to the corruption of the real moon. Since then, The Moon has been unresponsive, and we are unsure if she would ever regain consciousness."_

A moment of silence seemed to pass between the two, before Naruto quietly spoke up.

"I'm...sorry to hear about that..."

_"Don't be, child. It has happened, but we have both accepted it and also are trying to reverse the effects. Thank you however, for your concern."_

Silence continued to reign between them, until Naruto suddenly recalled something about the scroll. The design in it had twenty-two circles, three of which were burned out. If one of them was The Moon, then the other two...

"Goldman? What happened to the other two Arcana who's circles were burned out?"

_"...I will tell you about them at another time...If you wish to access information about the Arcana, apply chakra to their respective circles. The scroll has a unique property which you will find out when you do so."_

"...Thanks...say Goldman? How do I go back?"

_"Concentrate on returning to your body. It helps at first if you imagined a picture of it in your mind when doing so. Overtime you'll get more used to doing it and as such do not require the image."_

Naruto nodded his head in thanks, before getting off his stool. He stood there momentarily before tiling his head back at Goldman.

"Say Goldman?"

_"Mmm? Yes child?"_

"If there was a Jūbi, then that means its related to the Kyūbi no Yōko, right?"

_"In a way. The Rikudō Sennin realized the possible danger keeping the Jūbi's chakra sealed within him, therefore he split the chakra into nine entities and scattered them across the world. The Kyūbi is one of these. Why do you ask?"_

"Oh because...when I was a baby, the Yondaime Hokage sealed it within me to save the village. Anyway thanks, see ya!"

Naruto turned about, completely missing Goldman's profound look of shock, and, after concentrating, managed to fade away. Goldman remained in place, shock still written all over his face.

_"...This was unprecedented...the Arcana must be informed._"

* * *

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, the sight of the ceiling of his apartment filling his vision. Slowly he sat up, before looking down at the black scroll in front of him, specifically at the design, with its three burned out circles.

'Man...having someone familiar to them in a comatose state...and not knowing what to do...'

Naruto shivered slightly at the thought, imagining Iruka-sensei in a coma.

'If it happened to me...I'd be really worried as well...'

Naruto suddenly stifled a yawn, as he blinked his eyes rapidly in an attempt to stay awake.

'...I'm exhausted...maybe I should take a look at the scroll tomorrow...'

Placing the scroll within a 'secret spot' (underneath a loose floorboard), he let out a loud yawn, before falling asleep on his bed.

* * *

Within the scroll, Goldman stood within a dark room with very dim lighting, several silhouetted figures standing around him, all arguing over the matter Goldman presented to them.

**"This...is unprecedented, Goldman...The Kyūbi, a fragment of the Jūbi, within our summoner..." **A childish voice resounded through the room, the source coming from a small impish shadow, resting on a large headless figure carrying a massive axe, which groaned in agreed response.

**"With the Kyūbi within the child, perhaps it is possible that we can at last revive The Moon from her coma!" **This was put forward by a guttural voice, the figure crouching between its legs, a trident grasped in its hand, while its chest shifted from time to time.

**"We do not know what would happen to the child if we did so, nor if we would even be successful in doing so." **This was refuted by an echoing voice, from a horned figure floating above the 'floor', part of its limbs pulsing like exposed muscles.

**"Bah! I say we simply kill the boy. That way, the Kyūbi would die as well, and there would be no chance that what happened to The Moon would happen to another one of us again!" **A hostile tone filled the voice, the hulking figure carrying a massive chainsaw. The word 'BLAME' could be barely seen etched into the side of the weapon. At this sentence, varying murmurs of consent or protest arose.

**"Think thissssss through, you imbecile! The boy sssssshould not have to die jusssssst because of the Kyūbi within him. We are ssssssupposed to try and reconcile humanity through thissssss incarnation damnit!"** A sibilant voice rebutted instantly, the large slender figure resting upon four coiled smaller figures. This statement caused the room's occupants to burst into loud argument and chatter. Goldman simply stood in the middle of it, having already taken off his glasses and was rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Then, a loud booming voice resounded: **"ENOUGH..."** Instantly, the figures stopped their loud argument and turned their attention to the largest figure amongst them, obviously the leader of the Arcana.

**"WE SHALL FIRST WATCH THE BOY...HE IS OUR ONLY LINK TO THIS INCARNATION OF HUMANITY...WE MUST NOT DO ANYTHING TO ENDANGER IT...THE KYŪBI SHALL BE DEALT WITH IN TIME...SO SAYS THE WORLD..." **With that the figure faded away from the room.

**"So says The World..." **The other figures repeated in chorus, before they separately faded away as well.

Goldman sighed as he returned to rubbing the bridge of his nose. He knew that some of the Arcana would react in the way that they had, but the fact was there: The Kyūbi, being a part of the Jūbi, could possibly be used to revive The Moon from her comatose state.

_"Sometimes I wish that the original Goldman should not have left his memory in this...It would spare me the pain of the Arcana being what they are..."_

Goldman turned around before walking off, slowly fading away from the room...

* * *

Plague: Alright I'm conscious now! Hope you guys liked that. Not much action, but it does help set the scene, as well as explaining The Moon. I know, the moon in the Naruto-verse was created as was mentioned, but if there were earlier incarnations of humanity, the moon is present there as well. Therefore, I had to make it that the stone prison for the Jūbi's body fused with the moon instead of BECOMING the moon.

Yup, the Arcana now know of the Kyūbi in Naruto, and are now planning/plotting/whatever-else on what to do with that piece of information. Of course, they will be VERY interested eventually when the Akatsuki appear, and what they plan to do (as in 'gathering the Tailed Beasts', prior to Madara revealing his Eye of the Moon plan thingy, that's in Shippuden if I ever get that far).

Next we'll have the second of the three Arcana available to Naruto making an appearance, but that's all I'm going to say. Now then, reviews are GREATLY appreciated ^ ^


	3. The Hanged Man

Plague: WEEEEEEE here's Chapter 3 after hogging the computer for nearly a week ^ ^. And pissing off Roamer at the same time ha ha!

Roamer: Unfortunately due to Plague...'hogging the computer'...I was unable to type out the next few chapters for Prototype Versus Infection. *glare*

Plague: Well good news for him (and PVI readers) is that I'm fresh out of ideas now, so he can have the time on the computer now!

Anyway hope you guys like this chapter! A bit more action, and moving the story along at the same time. This is also under the assumption that there was a break (two weeks) after Genin promotions so as to organize the teams, selecting the Jounin teachers and to give the Genin time to prepare (no sense in getting that all done after a single day).

Disclaimer: I do not own House of the Dead (Sega's) or Naruto (Kishimoto's).

Plague: Enjoy!

"Text" Normal speech

'Text' Thoughts/Mental communication

_"Text"_ Goldman speech

_'Text'_ Goldman mental communication

**"Text"** Demon/Arcana speech

**'Text'** Demon/Arcana mental communication

Plague: P.S. I just read up more information and found out the proper name for Chariot's weapon is a bardiche (fail on my part T.T). Already made appropriate changes in the first chapter. NOW ROLL TAPE!

Roamer: ...I just know she's going to do something later...

* * *

Chapter 3: The Hanged-Man

Sunlight seeped through the windows of Naruto's apartment as the sun dawned on the Shinobi world. Slowly, Naruto roused from his slumber as a light beam shone on his face, alerting him to the start of a new day. He raised himself off his bed, rubbing his eyes to rid them of the remaining sleepiness. In doing so however, he also cleared the haze over his mind, and he gradually remembered the events of last night.

'Man...first Iruka-sensei nearly died because of Mizuki-teme, then finding out that the Kyūbi hadn't been defeated by the Yondaime Hokage, only sealed within me, and finally to top it off, my own Summoning Contract, the summons having once caused us humans to...start over...'

Naruto let a shiver run down his spine as he connected the dots and came to a startling realization.

'I think I get the idea now when Goldman told me to not let the contract fall into the wrong hands...B-but, how am I supposed to do that when I only just started out as a shinobi?! There are more experienced people out there, a-and no doubt they'll want the contract if they find out about it...'

Naruto came very close to snapping out of panic, before he mentally slapped himself.

'NO, stop thinking negatively...if there are better trained people out there, then I'll just have to train myself so I could face them! But first...'

Naruto tilted his head towards the loose floorboard which covered the small hiding place he had, which contained the scroll.

'...I better learn more about the Arcana. No point trying to protect them without actually learning more about them. Maybe I could also train better with them...'

Now more confident after his near breakdown, Naruto quickly scrambled out of bed and crouched on the floor, moving the floorboard to reveal the black scroll resting inside. He took it out and was about to open it when he was reminded that his stomach was hungry with a loud rumble coming from it. Highly embarrassed, he slowly turned around before heading towards the kitchen, sweatdropping at his own forgetfulness.

'Maybe I should have breakfast first...'

* * *

_Five minutes later_

Naruto sat in his seat, slurping up the delicious ramen noodles while studying the scroll in front of him, taking extra care not to spill anything onto it in case. He had applied some chakra onto Chariot's kanji, before the ink on the scroll shifted to form a colored and accurate picture of Chariot's armored figure, his bardiche also shown beside him. Next to the picture, there was a detailed profile of the armored warrior:

**Chariot - Type 07  
**

**Main Method of Attack: Bardiche**

**Weakpoint: Gem on right chest segment  
**

**Specialization: Hunter**

**Chariot is one of the faster Arcana, due to his smaller frame as compared to other Arcana and induced training. His armor permits a continued presence in a fight, while his bardiche grants a long reach advantage, which he uses for great effect. However, the gem on the right chest segment is his main weakpoint, due to the gem being the armor's generator. If destroyed, Chariot will have to shed his armor, which causes him to be extremely vulnerable, but without the encumbering armor, his speed is drastically improved as well.**

**Arcana Ability - Time Step: Chariot has the ability to take a step forward or backward in time, resulting in his position being shifted accordingly one second forward or backward. Using this requires a large amount of concentration and strains himself however, disallowing him from using it consecutively for too long.  
**

Naruto slowly blinked in surprise as he finished reading the details for Time Step, curious about the fact that Chariot possessed such a potentially powerful skill. He could see it being used as a great advantage, though he was also curious about the exact limit of 'too long'.

'Still, from what I'm reading, seems like each of the Arcana all possess some special skill. I wonder what the others would be like...'

Finishing his ramen, Naruto put on his traditional orange jumpsuit, placed the scroll within his pocket before heading out of his apartment.

'I better find a training ground that's secluded or something, so I can learn more about Chariot, and maybe one of the other Arcana as well...'

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, sighed in relief as he finally managed to finish the morning's paperwork. Sometimes, he believed that Minato had given up his life just to make him suffer and to avoid the nightmare that was paperwork. Thinking about the Yondaime Hokage brought a small smile to his face, as memories of a hyperactive blond child filled his mind.

'Hmmm...about Naruto...I haven't seen him since last night's occurrence. I'll just have a quick look-see before *shudder* more paperwork arrives...'

Taking out his crystal ball and a short 'Tōmegane no Jutsu' (_Telescope Technique_), he soon focused upon Naruto's figure, not knowing that this would cause one of the greatest discoveries in his life.

* * *

_Ten minutes later_

Naruto stood in the middle of the rather secluded Training Grounds 24, sitting cross-legged on the dirt ground, the opened scroll lying in front of him.

'Hmmm...should I summon Chariot first, or maybe I could try summoning one of the others?'

He took a quick glance at the other two glowing red circles. One had the kanji for 'Hanged-Man', while the other was 'Hierophant'. Naruto just starred at both of the circles while a sweatdrop slowly grew.

'...I'm not sure which one would actually have the higher chance of being reeeeeally dangerous...Oh well, if I don't do anything, then I won't get better.'

Taking a deep breath, Naruto quickly bit his thumb, flipped through the required hand seals, before slamming his open palm onto the ground as he called out the summoning technique, along with the Arcana name.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Hanged-Man! (_Summoning Technique: Hanged-Man_)"

A puff of smoke appeared, before a lithe figure suddenly shot out upwards, before thrusting large wings outwards.

**"Heh heh, LET'S PAR-"**

The figure suddenly stopped, as he took in his surroundings, which only consisted of Naruto and the empty training ground.

**"-tay? Alright, what's da big idea, kid?"**

The figure slowly floated downwards, before his feet landed on the ground, keeping his wings unfurled. This helped Naruto to take in the appearance of the second Arcana he would be familiar with.

Hanged-Man appeared to be a gargoyle-ish creature, just about the same size as Chariot. His lithe form sprouted a pair of bat wings from his shoulders, which flapped every now and then seemingly out of habit. His legs were strangely tri-jointed, with two wicked talons at the end of each foot, and a single spike extending backwards from the ankle. Possessing long sharp claws, his beaked face completed the picture with two glowing red eyes set on the side of his head, along with ears pointed backwards.

**"Kiddo, if ye gonna summon me and no one be around ta fight, ye better give me a goo-"**

"I need to train."

**"Wha?"**

Naruto took a deep breath, calming himself down in front of the gargoyle-ish Hanged-Man, before looking up at him with a determined gaze.

"I need to be better, so I can be able to face shinobi who would want you guys for evil reasons. This way, I can also learn more about you guys at the same time if I summon one of you to train with me."

Hanged-Man appeared to rub his chin thoughtfully, before he replied:

**"Well kid, I'd say that be a good idea, but did ye even bother checking what I can do?"**

At this, Naruto sweatdropped. In his haste to try and train, as well as learning more about the next Arcana, he had totally forgotten to check Hanged-Man's profile.

"Errr..."

**"Ah no worries kid, ye'd learn what it be when ye fight me. Isn't that da whole point of summonin' me here? Ta fight me so ye could be better 'nd all that? 'Sides, take this as a lesson kiddo: try ta learn more 'bout yer enemy 'fore ye fight 'em. Helps alot dat way."**

Naruto just stood there for a while, before giving Hanged-Man a determined nod, dropping quickly into a 'ready' stance. Hanged-Man seemed to give him a wicked grin.

**"Wonderful! Now get ready, kiddo, yer not getting the trainin' wheels!"**

Naruto had to dodge out the way, as a second later, Hanged-Man had swooped past where he was standing.

**"Nice reflexes, kid, but yer not getting outta here without some scratches!"**

Naruto looked up towards the now hovering Hanged-Man, a confident grin set on his face.

"We'll see about that, Batman!"

**"DON'T CALL ME BATMAN!! I AM THE HANGED-MAN!!"**

"WHATEVER! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (_Shadow Clone Technique_)" Naruto called out, as several solid clones appeared around him, hoping to at least confuse Hanged-Man. In contrast, however, he saw a devilish grin set on Hanged-Man's face.

**"Shadows, eh kid? That reminds me...SHADOWRAZE!"**

Alarmed, Naruto and his clones whirled about around them, only to see something odd with their own shadows...!

Eyes widening, Naruto hit the deck, along with a few clones, just as a flurry of dark bats somehow _flew_ out of their shadows. The clones that were not fast enough were quickly dispelled as the bats smashed through them. Gazing upwards, Naruto witnessed most of the bats slowly disintegrating into nothingness, while the rest flitted around Hanged-Man's figure.

**"Like dat, kid? Be me power, find out more yerself from de scroll later, now...TIME TA PAR-TAY!!!"**

Letting loose a mad cackle of glee, Hanged-Man swooped down, as his bats flew along with him, screeching in agreement. Naruto couldn't resist a grin himself as he readied his kunai, standing with his clones, ready to face off with the swooping gargoyle...

* * *

*MISSING MOVIE-

Roamer: ...Knew it...Plague, you promised you would NOT do this joke.

Plague: But it FITS damnit!

Roamer: I do not care, if you actually hogged the computer for that long a time, only to cut off the fight scene like this, the readers would be very angry. I already am.

Plague: Pffft FINE...*grumble mutter* ROLL TAPE...AGAIN!

* * *

Naruto waited until the last second before dashing to the side, throwing a volley of shuriken hidden in the palm of his other hand, only for the bats to take the hit for Hanged-Man, dispersing into wispy darkness before fading away. The remaining clones also tried to dodge to the side, but a large swing of his claws and Hanged-Man quickly dispelled most of the remainder, leaving only two clones along with the original.

'Damn, a frontal attack's not gonna work...but if I...yeah, that'll work.' Signaling to his clones, Naruto quickly dashed out of Hanged-Man's sight range, hoping that this plan would work.

The gargoyle righted himself, before whirling about to see two Narutos coming at him in a pincer attack. Smirking, he waited until they got into range, before slashing through the one on the left, as his talons smashed into the other from the momentum. His smirk widened as both of them dispelled in a puff of smoke, due to the fact that he was sure now that the summoner had some brains in him.

**"HA HA, NICE TRY KID-"**

The gargoyle was suddenly aware of a shadow over his own figure, before whirling around to face a large batch of clones created in mid-air by the original, who had jumped above him while he had been distracted.

**"-DO?!"**

Hanged-Man was suddenly dog-piled by a swarm of orange-clad blonde ninja clones, until a large mound of the clones was visible, while the original triumphantly crouched down next to it to speak to him.

"HAH! How about that, Batman?"

Muffled swearing could be heard, before a brief pause. Then, words somehow managed to reach Naruto's ears.

**"Nice try kid, but ye DO realize there be alota shadows through these 'ere gaps 'tween yer clones..."**

Naruto's eyes widened in alarm, before running away screaming, as somehow a clear shout originated from the bottom of the pile.

**"SHADOWRAZE!!"**

The pile almost seemed to bulge, before the clones mass-dispelled as a **humongous** swarm of bats tore through them, all circling around the winged figure in the middle, who was just starting to stand up.

"**BAHAHAHA!!!"**

Naruto was still running when suddenly, a clone, which had been at the top of the pile and thus not immediately torn through, landed right on top of him, flattening Naruto before dispelling.

"...Ow..."

Worn out, Naruto made no move to get up as footsteps made their way towards him, the screeching of the bats slowly fading away.

**"Keh, nice idea ye got there just now kid. Too bad dat be a bad idea 'gainst me. Still, nice job tryin' ta trap me."**

At the edge of his vision, Naruto could make out a clawed hand reaching down to him.

**"C'mon kid, I think de ground ain't dat comfy fer ya."**

Groaning out of both minor pain and exhaustion, he slowly lifted his arm, only for Hanged-Man to reach down further to grasp it, before lifting him up into a sitting position.

**"Man, dat took a bit outta ye. Ye better take a rest, kiddo, I'mma spread me wings in de meantime."**

Hearing this, Naruto's eyes widened before shouting a quick "STOP!" at Hanged-Man just as he was about to take flight. Glaring at him inquisitively, Hanged-Man folded his wings and crossed his arms, waiting for an explanation, which Naruto happily gave after a breath.

"You guys are supposed to be a secret, there's no telling what would happen if somebody saw you and started getting curious! I'm only a Genin, and there are probably loads of people out there who are greedy and want to use you guys! YOU EVEN CAUSED US HUMANS TO BE RENEWED ONCE ALREADY!"

A short silence between the two ensued, Naruto taking short breaths after shouting the last part.

**"...Kid, I'm sorry. Didn' realize me carelessness could easily make things bad fer ya. Ye got me word on de honor of de Arcana dat I'd neva do that 'nless ye tell me otherwise."**

After hearing that, Naruto raised his head in mild disbelief, only to see a comforting smile on Hanged-Man's face. Slowly, a grin crossed his own face.

"Thanks...y'know, you're not that bad for something that apparently brought about the basic idea of an apocalypse on us humans a long time ago."

Hanged-Man snorted at the statement. **"CHEH! I be an espionage expert, kiddo, but I put up a wicked fight if I wanted to. But ye already knew that." **He said the last part with a grin.

"True that, true that." Naruto only replied, before taking the scroll and opening it, while Hanged-Man flew up and crouched on a nearby tree branch, keeping watch as Naruto applied chakra to Hanged-Man's kanji. The same thing that happened this morning with Chariot's repeated itself, with the gargoyle's profile instead:

**Hanged-Man - Type 12**

**Main Method of Attack: Claws + Bats (see Arcana Ability entry)**

**Weakpoint: Center of chest**

**Specialization: Espionage**

**Hanged-Man, while a bit on the faster side, is much more agile and flexible due to his ability of flight. This allows him a great advantage in mobility, as well as causing havoc in a group. He excels, however, during the night, using his dark skin and soundless movements to maximum effect. Hanged-Man's skin and wings are formed from a mixture of flesh and stone, while still light enough for flight. However, the center of his chest is less-protected so as to ensure his ability to fly, thus leaving a glaring weakpoint to Hanged-Man's stone flesh.  
**

**Arcana Ability - Shadowraze: Hanged-Man is able to form bats out of nearby shadows, using this to great effect with surprise attacks, or as a screen for his own attack. Most of the bats would disintegrate quickly in sunlight, except for a few which Hanged-Man can sustain if he wishes. The impact of multiple bats can easily knock people off their feet. This can only be used sparingly, however, especially if he sustains any bats, while the bats themselves are very weak physically. Bats can also be used as scouts or spies, as long as they do not go too far from Hanged-Man.**

Naruto let out a low whistle. Hanged-Man seemed like he would be right at home with most shinobi missions.

Standing up, Naruto blinked as Hanged-Man floated back down before him, a smirk evident on his face.

**"So kiddo, ready fer Round 2?"**

Blinking again at the question, Naruto simply let a determined grin set on his face again, creating several Kage Bunshin as he got ready again. Hanged-Man's smirk widened as he took to the air, knowing that the kid would not stop trying until he succeeded.

**"C'mon, kid, LET'S PAR-TAY!!!"

* * *

**

Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly replaced the crystal ball back in its original place, having already seen enough. He sat there, even as an assistant placed a fresh stack of paperwork on his desk, pondering on what he had just seen and learned...

* * *

Plague: And here we go, the next of the Arcana AND the revelation of Chariot's ability! Yes all of the Arcana will have a unique ability that would best fit either them or what they're named after. Time Step is like a massive burst of speed, which would fit a chariot, while Shadowraze plays around with both shadows, symbolizing the Hanged Man's other name, the Traitor, along with bats, which fits the gargoyle Hanged-Man.

Also, I have decided to allow Naruto to gain special skills related to the Arcana he's allowed to use so far. However, he will require a weapon for those, and I am having difficulty deciding between a polearm-type or a sword-type weapon. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Anyway, seems like Sarutobi knows about the Arcana now, but oh what would he do...hehehe CLIFFIE!! :)

NOW REVIEW!! THE ZOMBIES COMMAND YOU TO DO S-*BONK*

Roamer: ...That is one of the most lamest excuses for a review ever...anyway, please do. It would help keep Plague occupied so that I can have the time to type out my chapters. *drags Plague away*


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